ajunejane's reviews
411 reviews

I definitely enjoyed this, some parts more than I have his other books I've read (Good Fairies of New York; Milk, Sulphate and Alby Starvation). While not including as much magic as Good Fairies of New York, he still inserts a bit of mythology into an interesting memoir of a teenager going to a Led Zeppelin concert. However, unlike Good Fairies of New York, the book could have been just as successful without magic, as it played such a small part and seemed a little awkward when it did enter into the narrative. Overall I enjoyed this book for the memoir quality, and I enjoyed the narrator's voice and personality. A quick, easy read.

I love this book. That's all.

*CONTAINS SPOILERS* Lawrence has a writing style that is somehow both vague and very specific. Perhaps this is due to his struggles with publishers over what was "too obscene to print." Perhaps it is because this book deals with emotions and actions that we in the west treat at once in a vague manner by not talking about them, talking around them or euphemizing them to death; yet at other times being very graphic when talking about sex. This book was much deeper than I was expecting, with Lawrence's style changing and becoming much quicker to read as Connie became happier and spent more time with the keeper. With Clifford the text became ponderous, floundering, and more roundabout. While the characters, especially Connie, seemed more like types than people who really undergo a dramatic change, they weren't hard to identify with on some level. In fact, most characters don't undergo much change, except for changes in situation (not changes in belief). The goal of the book--promoting love not tied to money and materialism--was well established, though sometimes seemed a bit heavy handed. I gave this book three stars because of the lack of character development and occasional preachiness, but aside from that the simple story of love between a man and a woman was well done, and again erotic without being too much like a grocery store romance novel. I liked reading the Signet Classics edition because of the very informative afterword, despite the company's continual bragging that they were the only company with rights to the complete edition (in the 60s).

The reason I'm giving this five stars is because the author provides a detailed glossary of anglicized sanskrit words, as well as a guide to pronouncing sanskrit vowels. While he chooses not to include a translation of what he calls "the legend" of Sita's betrayal, he still provides an extremely detailed translation of Valmiki's text as it is, including some translation from the poet Kamban's version of the Ramayana (who translated it into Tamil). However, this book is very simply put forward, as he says, for children and mothers. The sentences are simple and short, while not boring to more advanced adult readers. He presents the text like a teacher, stopping the narrative occasionally to remind us of something, or to discuss a character's moral action or a writing tool used by Valmiki or Kamban. The author's own Gandhian belief system is apparent, so if you're looking for an unbiased translation don't look here. But if you're looking for a simple yet beautiful translation with context, this is the version you want.